Victorian man accused of using wife as slave before she escaped

A Melbourne woman was forced to live on bread and pickles, sexually and verbally abused and not allowed to leave her bedroom unless she was cooking or cleaning for her husband, a court has been told.

The Indian woman arrived in Australia to be with her husband in 2015, and lived with him and his brother where she was ordered to do housework and barred from leaving the house, court documents allege.

"She was not allowed to step out of the house and instructed by her husband to remain in her bedroom unless she was cooking or cleaning for them," according to a police summary released to reporters by Melbourne Magistrates Court on Monday.

The husband, who cannot be named for legal reasons, is charged with a Commonwealth offence of intentionally reducing his wife to a slave in their outer-Melbourne home.

Upon arriving in Australia, the woman was allegedly put to work immediately by her husband, despite being exhausted from travel.

He told her to clean and do laundry for him and his brother and although she had a mobile phone, she was unable to buy an Australian SIM card.

"She did not have access to any money and when she asked if she could go to work to earn money, her husband told her she could not leave the house," police allege.